Microsoft, Samsung, Intel Adding to Crowded Mobile OS Market: Report

Mobile operating system introductions from Microsoft, Samsung, Intel and Nokia are making for a crowded marketplace that won't last, says a new report from In-Stat, which favors open-source operating systems, such as Google's Android.

In a market already seeing the rapid adoption of Google's Android platform and
the continued strength of Symbian's
market-leading mobile OS, the addition of such offerings as Windows Phone
7, Bada and MeeGo-the new collaborative and open-source effort from Intel and
Nokia-is creating a bloated space that eventually will have to shrink,
according to In-Stat.

"In-Stat doesn't believe the current proliferation of mobile operating systems
is sustainable," the firm states in a Feb. 23 report. "The industry cannot
support more than a few platforms."

In-Stat found Google's
Android mobile operating system to be the preferred OS among original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and appeared to prefer it as well, writing that
open-source OS platforms are "critical to enabling the entire wireless
ecosystem," and that they "reduce the costs and time to market of handset OEMs
while providing service providers with a consistent platform to build
applications and services upon."

While describing Microsoft's new mobile OS-which sews together calendar, e-mail
and social networking information; Internet resources; and mapping software-as
having compelling features, In-Stat nonetheless found it not-all-together
unique.

"Time will tell if Microsoft's hyped announcement leaves a lasting impression
on the industry," In-Stat wrote.

The firm was also showed halting enthusiasm toward Samsung's
Bada platform, writing that it believes Samsung will "see challenges
enabling Bada to propagate beyond Samsung phones," as well as toward the
Intel-Nokia effort, MeeGo.

"Ironically ... the two companies see the use of the platform differently," wrote
In-Stat. "Intel sees MeeGo, just as it saw Moblyn, as a software platform for
anything from a smartphone to a netbook. Nokia, on the other hand, sees it as a
platform for solutions above smartphones, likely as to not compete with
Symbian."

In-Stat also found that "many companies view the operating systems as a
platform to control the handset platform. Handset vendors are treading
carefully to position themselves for this strategic shift in the landscape. In-Stat
sees smartphone handset vendors stratifying around their approach to control
and customization."

One of these "stratifying" approaches-which may thin the competition-is that of
companies such as Apple, Palm, Samsung and Nokia, which "want to control
everything from the look and feel to the OS." A second group, which includes
Motorola, HTC and LG, chooses an
industry-standard OS and instead puts their energies into "providing value with
personalization, look and feel and additional services/applications."

The final group, wrote In-Stat, is generally smaller OEMs, which focus on cost.
From there, wrote the firm, they "take whatever they can to produce the best
phone at an attractive price."

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.